Estes Park, CO: Where I Discovered I Liked Hiking
So we can’t travel right now with the COVID-19 pandemic that has kept us all at home. With that, I’ve been spending a lot of time looking back through old photos of our trips from last year, longing to travel again.
Last year, Matt and I ended up traveling more than we intended — at one point, we even thought it would be nice just to stay at home for once and not do anything (ha!). Immediately after, the Vancouver strikes happened and a work trip that I had been looking forward to got canceled, and now we’re in the middle of a pandemic. Maybe we can channel that type of energy into “it would be nice to win a million dollars?”
In any case, one of the first big trips we took last year (and one of our first as a couple — it made us stronger for sure) was to Colorado. It took a ton of planning, more planning than I had done for a trip, and I definitely didn’t love that part. It was fun getting to do ALL the things. It wasn’t fun planning our days out. But it’s a must when we were packing so much into a trip.
We flew into Denver, drove up to Estes Park for a few nights, drove back down to Denver, and then spent a few nights there.
We landed in Denver a little bit before noon to meet my sister and her friend, who were joining us for the trip. We had to wait for my sister’s flight, which was coming in a few hours later. Once she joined us, we rented an SUV and took the hour and a half drive to Estes Park. Much hilarity ensued, including the shocking discovery that at a certain point you absolutely lose service. We quickly learned to save all directions offline (thanks for that feature Google!).
When we arrived at the condo we rented, it was beautiful! We absolutely loved the place, and I would 100% rent it again. We rented a condo at the Peaks at Mary’s Lake, and the balcony views were gorgeous. We definitely spent some time out there.
Mary’s Lake in Estes Park, CO
The first night was a bit of a wash simply because we were all pretty exhausted and getting ourselves ready for an early morning hike.
First Day: Hiking Emerald Lake (Almost) & Boulder, Colorado
I am not a hiker at all. I had only been hiking maybe four times prior to our trip to Colorado. So the idea of waking up at 5 AM to go on a hike was a living nightmare. But this part of the trip was for Matt, and if you’re in Estes Park, you have to go hiking.
We decided to get the most out of the views and attempt the Dream Lake and Emerald Lake loop, starting at the Bear Lake Trailhead. Things I was 100% unprepared for: the bathrooms, the hike, and the snow — so basically everything.
The trail was absolutely beautiful, and the views were breathtaking.
We made our way past Nymph Lake first.
Nymph Lake
Then stopped along the way for obligatory photos of us on a rock.
Then we finally made it to Dream Lake. It was extremely serene.
Dream Lake
Here is where things got tricky. The snow was definitely unexpected. Here I was thinking that in June, there wouldn’t be three feet of snow on the ground, but sure enough, I fell through snow on our way from Dream Lake to Emerald Lake. From there it started to get pretty icy, and we were just not equipped for that kind of weather. We ended up turning back and making our way down to the trailhead.
Things I learned:
Hiking wasn’t too terrible minus the snow incident.
I hate ice.
I was not in shape at all (still am not - working on it).
Did I mention, I hate ice?
After our hike, we stopped in at Notchtop Bakery for breakfast. It was delicious, and I would highly recommend if you’re in Estes Park.
Next we drove to Boulder, CO, where the temperature was 20 degrees warmer, and I am not kidding in the slightest. At some point, my phone battery died, so I don’t have pictures for you.
But things we did in Boulder, CO:
Visited the Celestial Seasonings Factory - stop and smell the tea!
Walked around Pearl Street and stopped at:
Gelato Boy - yum!
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory - extra yum!
Had an early dinner at Post Brewing Co. in Boulder - the food was great, beer was so-so.
Day Two: Hiking to Gem Lake
Day two certainly challenged us — at least me. We started at 6 AM, sans my sister, who decided to sit this one out. Throughout the hike, I repeatedly wished I had joined her. We started the hike at the Lumpy Ridge Trailhead, which was nice and empty at the early hour.
I would highly recommend for any of these hikes to start nice and early. On our way down, we passed a ton of people, and I was glad we were able to beat the crowds by starting early, especially because it meant we could set our own pace.
Unlike the Emerald Lake hike, the hike to Gem Lake was steep and you gained a ton of elevation. It was also raining, which didn’t help. The morning was pretty cloudy but it cleared up on our way down.
If you’re ever doing this hike, just know that you will cover quite a bit of elevation in a short period of time. There are steps for much of the climb, but they can be pretty high. So all in all, it was a slow hike up to Gem Lake.
“Paul Bunyan’s Boot”
On the way up, we saw “Paul Bunyan’s Boot,” which is named that for obvious reasons.
There is also a privy with a view, which I did not get a picture of since it was right around the time I was feeling miserable on the hike. I was sore from two days of hiking and wet. It wasn’t a great combination.
Once we got to Gem Lake, I felt relieved. I honestly don’t think I could have kept going — I even think I said that on the hike. Matt did a great job of not calling me dramatic, which I was clearly being.
We rested for a bit and then began the trek down, which was a lot easier than the climb up but still challenging. Gem Lake was the last hike we had for the entire trip, and I was thankful the rain cleared up enough for us to enjoy it.
You can definitely see how the clouds cleared up later in the morning.
We left Estes Park for Denver and had a thought that we would grab breakfast in Estes. That did not pan out. It was Father’s Day, and we didn’t have reservations.
We ended up starting our drive back to Denver and stopped at the Colorado Cherry Company in Lyons, which was the first place we saw that had food. The breakfast was good; the pie was delicious. Also, check out the view!
Our check-in time at our Airbnb in Denver wasn’t until later, so we had time to kill. When we had time, we found breweries. It’s just what we do. So our next stop was Bootstrap Brewing in Longmont, Colorado. It’s a solid 3.5-3.75 brewery according to my Untapp’d ratings.
So ended our Estes Park trip and started our trip to Denver.
